Life span plundered, I became a detective and achieved immortality

"Crack...knock..."

A series of crisp sounds, like shattering glass, echoed continuously in the center of the Fire Crow Domain, as if the heavens and earth were mourning the impending collapse. The protective array of Heavenly Crow Immortal City, personally set up by the Lie Xuan Ancestor and the four half-step Golden Immortals of the Fire Crow Clan, was now flickering violently. The originally condensed, crimson-gold flame light wall was now covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and each crack was flowing with dissipated flame power, like the blood flowing from a wounded dragon.

This quasi-immortal array, which had consumed a great deal of the Fire Crow Clan's resources and was capable of withstanding the full-force attack of a perfect half-step Golden Immortal, finally reached its limit under the frenzied onslaught of dozens of half-step Golden Immortals. Cracks spread at a visible speed, and the flames on the array's light screen flickered like candles in the wind, as if they would completely collapse at any moment, turning into countless sparks and dissipating into the world.

Outside the formation, dozens of incomparably powerful auras, like a prison or abyss, pressed down on the air of the entire Fire Crow Domain, almost freezing it, and even distorting space and time. The lightning of the Nine Heavens Ancestor danced like a silver dragon, and bolts of destructive divine lightning stretching for thousands of light-years tore through the clouds, slashing down with the power to annihilate everything; the cloud waves of the Azure Cloud Ancestor surged like a raging sea, and black cloud waves condensed into a giant hand that covered the sky, slamming hard against the light screen; the azure light of the Azure Mist Ancestor was like a barrage of arrows, and countless arrows formed from the power of the rules of grass and trees pierced through the void, shooting towards the nodes of the formation... Various divine powers and lights bombarded the light screen like meteors hitting the moon, and each impact made the formation tremble violently, and the cracks deepened. The Fire Crow Clan cultivators inside the formation were shaken until they bled from their seven orifices, and those with slightly weaker cultivation collapsed directly, exploding into clouds of blood mist and turning to ashes.

"You're dreaming if you think you can find out where our ancestor secluded himself from me!"

Within the Heavenly Crow Immortal City, the Fierce Martial Clan Chief was covered in blood, his crimson-gold battle armor tattered and revealing deep, bone-revealing wounds on his exposed skin. Yet, he remained as upright as a pine tree, his spine unyielding. He gazed at the狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) faces outside the city, his eyes burning with a resolute flame. His voice, laced with bone-chilling venom, echoed through the shaky light barrier: "When my ancestor takes his final step and achieves immortality as a Golden Immortal, I will return. Then, I will make you pay a hundredfold for what you did today! You, and the clans behind you, will all meet your demise. I will make you taste the most excruciating punishments in the world!"

Before the words had even finished, in the instant before the protective array shattered completely, Clan Chief Liewu didn't hesitate for a moment. He abruptly looked up, a glint of fervent loyalty and devotion to his ancestor flashing in his eyes, and then his immortal soul exploded without reservation—

"Boom..."

A terrifying explosion, as if at the dawn of the universe, suddenly resounded from the center of Tianwu Immortal City. An energy surge, nearly as powerful as the self-destruction of a perfect half-step Golden Immortal, erupted like a blooming blood-red mushroom cloud, instantly engulfing the entire city. The Netherworld Fire Crystals on the city walls shattered into dust, the fire totems of ancestors melted in the intense heat, and the surviving Fire Crow Clan cultivators, along with the city's palaces, streets, markets, scripture pavilions, treasure vaults… everything was reduced to ashes by this destructive force, leaving only scorched earth.

The surge of energy spread outwards, crashing into the besieging half-step Golden Immortals. Although it was blocked by the defensive immortal artifacts they had summoned, emitting a mournful "buzzing" sound, it still caused many half-step Golden Immortals to experience a surge of blood and qi, their bodies retreating repeatedly, their faces showing shock and anger.

"Damn it! That fierce young lad is quite decisive!"

Above the Heavenly Crow Immortal City, the Cangyun Ancestor gazed at the ruins below, now reduced to scorched earth, his face ashen, his white robes fluttering in the fierce wind. They had intended to capture Lie Wu alive and extract information about Lie Xuan's whereabouts from him, but they hadn't expected this junior to be so ruthless, preferring to self-destruct his immortal soul rather than utter a single word, severing their most direct lead and rendering their siege futile.

The Nine Heavens Ancestor was surrounded by lightning, his eyes filled with rage: "You think you can completely hide Lie Xuan's whereabouts like this? Lie Wu, you're dreaming! As long as Lie Xuan is still in the Nine Domains Continent, he can't hide forever!"

"Indeed, even if we search the entire Nine Realms Continent, dig for billions of years, and venture into every forbidden and dangerous place, we will definitely find that old man Lie Xuan!" The voice of the Azure Mist Immortal Ancestor was icy cold, and the spiritual energy of the plants and trees around him twisted into venomous snakes in anger. The more resolute the young Lie Wu was, the more determined they became to find that old man Lie Xuan—the fact that a ninth-grade Perfect True Immortal could so decisively self-destruct his immortal soul clearly showed their complete confidence in Lie Xuan's breakthrough.

If they cannot find Elder Lie Xuan in time, he might very well take that final step and attain immortality. At that time, the consequences would likely be just as that brat Lie Wu said: not only would they be doomed, but their entire clans would also be wiped out.

......

In the southern part of the Fire Crow Domain, in that hidden valley.

The four half-step Golden Immortals, including the Old Ancestor Lieyuan, sat cross-legged on the rocks at the edge of the valley. The fiery aura around them was deliberately suppressed to the extreme, and even the sparks overflowing from their pores were forcibly suppressed. The four of them looked like four ordinary mortals who knew nothing about cultivation. They sat there quietly, showing no signs of being divine, and blended into the surrounding rocks and mist.

"Wu'er..."

Almost the instant Lie Wu self-destructed, the four sensed something abruptly and opened their eyes, their gazes fixed on the direction of Tianwu Immortal City. At that moment, a destructive energy was soaring into the sky from that direction, staining half the heavens red. Even across hundreds of eons of void, the aura belonging to Lie Wu could be clearly sensed rapidly dissipating, extinguishing like a candle in the wind. A moistness welled in the eyes of the four ancestors—a mixture of sorrow and suppressed grief. Their chests felt as if magma was churning, threatening to burst forth.

Although they had anticipated this day when they ordered Lie Wu to use the full strength of the clan to hunt down cultivators from the Eight Domains at any cost and accumulate battle merits to exchange for quasi-immortal elixirs—that the Fire Crow Clan would inevitably pay a heavy price, and might even be wiped out—when that day actually came and they saw their most outstanding descendant perish so tragically, they still found it hard to accept, feeling as if their hearts were being torn apart.

"Don't worry, once Father successfully breaks through, none of them will escape!" Ancestor Lieyuan clenched his fists, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, filled with suppressed pain and hatred. "The blood of Tianwu Immortal City, your life, Liewu, and the sacrifice of all the sons of the clan, I will make those scum pay a hundredfold!"

The other three elders nodded in agreement, their eyes burning with the flames of revenge. A chilling killing intent flashed across their eyes, causing the temperature in the entire valley to drop by dozens of degrees, and even the surrounding mist to condense into tiny ice crystals.

However, even though they were burning with anger and wished they could rush out and fight those people to the death, not one of them actually got up and left the valley.

Acting impulsively at this moment would be tantamount to courting death—any one of the four half-step Golden Immortals could easily crush them. If they dared to go after them, it would be like throwing meat buns to a dog, a one-way trip. Not only would they fail to avenge themselves, but they would also expose the ancestor's whereabouts, ruining the plan that had been in place for billions of years, and making all the sacrifices go to waste. That would be the greatest betrayal of Lie Wu and the sacrificed clansmen.

Suppressing their anger, they remained vigilant, channeling their true immortal power to reinforce the concealment array around the valley. Streams of fiery runes flowed from their fingertips, merging into the valley's rock walls and mist, completely sealing off the area's atmosphere. Not even a trace of magma heat escaped, making the entire valley vanish from the Nine Realms Continent's perception.

Before Father (Ancestor) has accomplished his great task, we must not reveal our whereabouts.

As long as Father (Ancestor) succeeds in attaining immortality, let alone hundreds of half-step Golden Immortals, even a thousand or ten thousand would be nothing more than ants that can be wiped out with a wave of the hand! At that time, all blood debts will be repaid with the blood and bones of our enemies!

Soon, silence returned to the valley, except for the low roar of churning magma in the center of the valley, as if mourning their fallen kin or gathering the power of revenge, waiting for the moment to erupt.

......

Spring comes and autumn goes, and a billion years of time slips away like sand through our fingers.

The once renowned Fire Crow clan, revered by countless forces, has been almost completely wiped out from the Nine Domains Continent. Those iconic three-legged Fire Crow phantoms have never appeared in the skies of any major domain again. Under the relentless pursuit of numerous half-step Golden Immortal and ninth-grade True Immortal forces, it's practically impossible to find a single pure-blooded three-legged Fire Crow in the entire Nine Domains Continent. The few remaining mixed-blood descendants can only hide in the most remote corners, living a precarious existence.

In the Cangling Domain, Iron Arm Mountain Range, beneath the ruins of Fortress No. 507, within the hidden cave shrouded by the Twenty-Eight Constellations Formation, chaotic energy flowed slowly like viscous jade liquid, nourishing everything within the cave.

Sitting cross-legged on the Chaos Futon, Su Mo's purple-gold light membrane became increasingly solid, and the Primordial Runes intertwined into a net, almost merging with the chaotic energy flow within the cave. This was a sign that his Primordial Boundless True Immortal Body had become increasingly refined after devouring countless True Immortal corpses.

Suddenly, Su Mo slowly opened his eyes. The chaos in his eyes dissipated, revealing a deep calm. However, beneath the calm, a trace of disappointment flashed.

“A billion years…” Su Mo murmured to himself, flicking his fingertips. A wisp of chaotic energy exploded and condensed in his palm, transforming into a miniature star before returning to nothingness, as if playing with time. “I have devoured all the True Immortal corpses I have accumulated, leaving only Old Man Lie Xuan, a perfect half-step Golden Immortal. They still haven’t discovered Old Man Lie Xuan’s secluded cultivation place.”

As he spoke, Su Mo tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the barrier of the cave, seeing the half-step Golden Immortals outside who were still relentlessly searching. A faint, almost imperceptible sneer appeared on his lips: "These old guys are a bit useless."

"It seems I'll have to lend them a hand."

The next second...

Su Mo's mind stirred, and a divine thought traversed thousands of eons of void, appearing in the sea of ​​consciousness of a spiritual illusory body.

......

Millions of years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"Good! Finally, we have news of that old man Lie Xuan. This time, I'll see how you die!"

......